#60
Eunsol nodded slightly at the coldly delivered words. Kim Myungjun had told him that after daybreak today, Hyun-oh would be going abroad again on a business trip in the afternoon.
Though it was just a short schedule of two nights and three days, for Eunsol, who was anxious with each passing day, it felt like an eternity.
As time passed, the courage he had mustered with difficulty wasn’t growing stronger; instead, it was diminishing like dandelion seeds scattered in the wind.
If he couldn’t speak to Hyun-oh today, Eunsol felt he might not be able to reveal his pregnancy until his belly became visibly swollen.
Actually, he had planned to go to the reception room when Hyun-oh came home and calmly bring up the topic over a cup of tea. He had prepared tea snacks and tea that was supposedly good for fatigue, but Hyun-oh returned home later than expected.
Eunsol had been sitting on the living room sofa, rubbing his sleepy eyes, and from the time past midnight, he couldn’t even sit still, continuously pacing in front of the front door.
And now, face to face with the person he had been waiting for so long, it wasn’t easy to speak as if his throat were completely blocked.
“The baby…”
He had thought countless times about how to tell Hyun-oh while waiting. Should he say that a miraculous life had come to them, or should he start by saying that despite Hyun-oh not wanting it, he had desperately conceived a child that he had longed for?
Numerous words were floating chaotically in his mind, but Eunsol ended up blurting out the word “baby” first, without any preamble.
“Lee Eunsol.”
For a moment, Hyun-oh felt weary of this situation. Eunsol had brought up the topic of children multiple times already. Each time, he had said he didn’t want children. Why didn’t Eunsol know when to give up?
Seeing this, Hyun-oh even thought that although Eunsol seemed outwardly intimidated by him, inwardly he might not be.
Eunsol was continually fixated on pregnancy and children.
Hyun-oh made a cold judgment. Eunsol’s pheromone levels were very low. During his heat cycle, his pheromone levels had risen higher than expected, but that was only temporary.
Moreover, male omegas didn’t have a high probability of pregnancy. If Hyun-oh were to knot Eunsol every time they had intercourse, the chances might increase, but Hyun-oh was consciously restraining his desires.
In his opinion, the current state of the relationship between Eunsol and himself was just right.
Although he had become Chairman, he was still in the process of establishing his position. He had dealt with Han Hyunyong to the extent that his comeback was impossible, but the problem was his mother.
She was a person with an outstanding mind, ability, and social acumen, to the extent that it was genuinely puzzling how she had given birth to a son like Han Hyunyong.
Because of this, Hyun-oh had not yet finished the process of sifting through, persuading, or removing those who subtly suggested reinstating Han Hyunyong.
“I’ve told you that I don’t want children. Let’s not bring up this topic again.”
Therefore, Hyun-oh cut off the conversation coldly without even listening to what Eunsol wanted to say.
…He shouldn’t have done that.
Although he vaguely felt the sorrowful eyes following his back as he turned around after unilaterally ending the conversation.
Hyun-oh closed his eyes momentarily and, as always, ignored Eunsol’s gaze, focusing instead on the matters he needed to resolve after getting some rest.
* * *
“…Baby, don’t listen.”
Only after a long while after Hyun-oh had disappeared did Eunsol, with a pale face, wrap his arms around his stomach. Belatedly, he desperately hoped that the baby hadn’t heard what its father had said.
His vision blurred completely. With each blink, it felt as if not only tears fell downward, but his heart also dropped to his feet.
He was engulfed in a distant feeling, as if his body and mind were crumbling. His legs weakened, and as he staggered, he sat down on the floor.
At that moment, he felt a disparate sensation in his pocket. Eunsol pulled out the photo that had been inside with trembling hands.
It was an object he had been touching constantly while waiting for Hyun-oh. When Hyun-oh came in, he had reflexively put it in his pocket out of fear.
“I wanted… to show you…”
Thinking that if Hyun-oh could see this tiny life with his own eyes, perhaps his heart would change.
He had harbored a vain hope that if Hyun-oh knew this child of theirs was breathing so vividly inside him, perhaps he might change his mind.
That hope shattered like a bubble. As if the shattered hope had transformed into tears, Eunsol’s small face became soaked with tears.
“Still, daddy… is really happy that our baby came to me.”
Even knowing that the baby couldn’t hear either his words or Hyun-oh’s cold ones, Eunsol desperately whispered to the baby. Perhaps the words he was saying now were not for the baby but to comfort himself.
It was something that could be called a miracle.
When it became known that Eunsol’s pheromone levels were low, his family said he wouldn’t even be able to function properly as a person.
His father clicked his tongue with a heavily downcast face, and his stepmother lifted her teacup gracefully with a strangely pleased expression, saying she had known all along.
‘Eunsol should meet someone who doesn’t need him to get pregnant. For example, an elderly person who’ll die soon.’
His half-brother said such a terrible thing to their father as if it were nothing. And Eunsol had almost ended up living such a life, just as his half-brother had said.
He was glad that his partner wasn’t an elderly grandfather but someone who was undeniably handsome and tall. Despite appearing cold, Eunsol had helplessly fallen for Hyun-oh’s ingrained manners and his occasional acts of consideration.
Because it was Hyun-oh, not anyone else, he wanted to have his child. Even in a marriage without love, affection might grow over time.
Eunsol was filled with the desire to be with Hyun-oh for the rest of his life, so he wanted a child to be born so that Hyun-oh would look at him even once more.
“I will never… let our baby be lonely.”
Eunsol raised his hand to caress his stomach, where no movements could be felt yet. If Hyun-oh didn’t want the baby… then Eunsol would love the baby enough for both of them.
The thought of giving up the baby never crossed his mind.
No matter what the contract said about all rights to children belonging to Hyun-oh, giving birth to the baby was Eunsol’s choice.
Besides, Hyun-oh didn’t want the baby. To protect the baby, he had to steel his resolve.
For a moment, thoughts of Kang Ye-ryeong came to mind. Eunsol had once casually asked her how she felt about grandchildren.
‘Well, I don’t particularly have a desire to see grandchildren either.’
Ryu Jeong-woo’s mother-in-law had apparently asked him when they would have children whenever she saw him. Most in-laws would probably be full of desire to see grandchildren from their children.
Although Kang Ye-ryeong hadn’t said she didn’t want children like Hyun-oh, Eunsol realized that she also didn’t expect him to get pregnant.
No matter how well she treated Eunsol, it was because he was Hyun-oh’s spouse. If Hyun-oh and Eunsol were to be at odds over the issue of children, she would surely take her own son’s side.
So Eunsol couldn’t request help from her either.
In his narrow social circle, there was only one person Eunsol could turn to for help. And he already knew about Eunsol’s pregnancy.
Though that connection was also established thanks to Hyun-oh, the only point of contact between him and Hyun-oh was now Eunsol. And since his family was in the arts, they weren’t greatly influenced by Hyun-oh’s company.
“Still, I have one person on my side.”
Eunsol’s eyes contorted painfully. He tried to lift the corners of his mouth, but it wasn’t easy.
If everyone else turned their backs on him but Hyun-oh was on his side, Eunsol would feel as if he had the whole world and be happy.
Perhaps because the person he most wanted to be on his side still drew a cold line between them despite the considerable time that had accumulated between them, the tears that had once welled up showed no sign of stopping.
Eunsol headed to the bedroom, carrying his body that was heaving with the continuous sobs, fearing that Hyun-oh might come looking for him.
He planned to lie down on the bed before Hyun-oh came out after washing.
Even though Hyun-oh had coldly passed by him, he had longed for his pheromones all along. It was as if the baby knew of its other father’s existence and specifically sought out Hyun-oh’s pheromones.
“Don’t cry, Lee Eunsol. If you do, the baby will be sad too.”
He was worried that his emotions might be transmitted to the baby.
Eunsol had spent all day looking up things related to pregnancy. This was a period with a high risk of miscarriage. He should stop what he was doing and rest in a stress-free environment as much as possible.
Just the thought of losing the baby he had conceived with such difficulty made his head dizzy.
“I’ll be strong, baby.”
Eunsol caressed his stomach area with affectionate hands as he walked to the bedroom. If there was even one person who would love sincerely, perhaps the baby could lead a happy life.
After all, he himself had no one who loved him.
Even with only half a father, if he could love the baby enough to make up for Hyun-oh’s share, it would be enough. With that thought, Eunsol soothed even his bruised heart.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
